” Hold your eyes on God and leave the

doing to him. That is all the doing you have to worry about.”

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Deuteronomy 31:1-8

When moses finished telling all Israel these words,

He said, am now a hundred and twenty years old and I can no longer deal with anything.

Remember that the Lord told me that I shall not cross the Jordan River.

Now Joshua shall be at your head, as the Lord has said. He, your God,

will go before you to destroy these nations before you, and you will drive them away.

 The Lord shall deal with these cities as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings, and their land, which he destroyed.

 

So when he has given these nations over to you, you shall do the same, according to what I have commanded you.

Be valiant and strong, do not fear or tremble before them for the Lord, your God, is with you; he will not leave you or abandon you."

 After this, Moses called Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel:

"Be valiant and strong, you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord swore to their ancestors

he would give them and you shall give it to them as their possession. The Lord shall go before you. He shall be with you;

he shall not leave you or abandon you. Do not fear, then, or be discouraged."

 

Dt 32:3-4ab, 7, 8, 9 & 12

The portion of the Lord is his people.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

Then Jesus called a little child, set the child in the midst of the disciples, and said, "I assure you,

that, unless you change, and become like little children, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

Whoever becomes humble, like this child, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child, in my name, receives me.

 

See that you do not despise any of these little ones; for I tell you, their angels in heaven continually see the face of my heavenly Father.

What do you think of this? If someone has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, won't he leave the ninety-nine on the hillside,

and go to look for the stray one? And I tell you, when he finally finds it, he is more pleased about it,

than about the ninety-nine that did not go astray. It is the same with your Father in heaven.

Your Father in heaven doesn't want even one of these little ones to perish.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"To be gentle, humble and artless."

At the end of his life, Moses gives a message of encouragement to the Israelites, telling them to trust in the Lord and to have no fear.

Although they were like little children before the mighty Sihon and Og, who towered over them, they defeated these kings with God's help.

Thus, they are to remain steadfast in their trust in God. Christ teaches us that this child-like, humble trust is essential to our journey of faith.

 

Pride presumes we need no one and no help. Humility honestly accepts that we need God's help.

Saint Francis de Sales, the spiritual director of Jane Frances de Chantal taught that we are like little children clinging to our mothers, eager to be fed.

That same eagerness and happiness are to be the hallmark of our relationship with God,

accepting God's help in simplicity of heart, and delighting in it.

 

We are to cling to the Lord in confidence and without heeding any criticism or conflicting message

that would tell us we don't need God in our lives. Likewise, Saint Jane Frances de Chantal taught others to be "gentle,

humble and artless," always trusting in God and acknowledging that we are "dependent on Him."